Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance made the following statement today after Senate President Karen Spilka and Speaker Ron Mariano successfully pushed forward an amendment to the state constitution that would effectively eliminate the equal taxation clause.

Similar attempts to make Massachusetts into what amounts to a graduated income tax state have failed five times at the ballot box and more recently at the state’s highest court as it was deemed “unconstitutional.” This seventh attempt is unique because it is being proposed by Beacon Hill politicians and not citizens. While politicians claim this will only be an 80 percent tax increase for high earners, if passed into law, it would also affect many small businesses filing taxes as pass-through entities and opens the door for similar taxes down the road.   

Today’s vote passed 159-41 and was done while the State House continues to be closed to the public.

“Only Beacon Hill politicians want to raise taxes by 80 percent, while simultaneously collecting more tax revenue then they know how to spend. The voters should not forget or forgive this level of greed and they will have another chance to hold them accountable in 2022,” stated Paul Diego Craney, spokesperson for MassFiscal.

“Senate President Karen Spilka and Speaker Ron Mariano have repeatedly been exposed as the country’s most opaque state legislative body and now they are also the greediest. They will use today as a rallying cry to raise taxes on the rich and if they are successful, they will make sure we are all considered rich when the taxes are due,” continued Craney.

“The middle class and working families will be the key constituency that will ultimately reject this proposal. Massachusetts’s middle class and working families have the most to lose under this tax hike proposal. While lawmakers want the public to think it’s a tax hike only for the rich, the state’s most affluent will quickly flee while the middle class and working families will be left to cover the bill. As more middle class and working families realize this is an attempt to tax them next, this will eventually fail for the seventh time and be a victory that all taxpayers can relish,” concluded Craney.